Developing Construction 4.0 transformation of Aotearoa New Zealand's construction sector

Abstract

Aotearoa’s construction industry reached over $20.5 billion in 2019 and it became the fourth largest workplace in the year ended June 2021, significantly contributing to New Zealand’s economy. However, it has long been criticised for its low productivity, inefficiencies, and its significant contribution to carbon emissions. The principal challenge is that complex decisions with far-reaching outcomes that span generations are being made based on simple data inputs. The decision points in the process are traditionally made in linear silos with little interconnection or data-derived decision support. This challenge requires a complexity science and construction 4.0 approaches (design lead construction process) to solve these long-standing limitations and to revolutionise conventional construction. HERA successfully secured over $10.2M MBIE Endeavour Fund for developing Construction 4.0 transformation of Aotearoa New Zealand’s construction sector. This project will deliver high-quality research to create transformation in terms of construction productivity, quality, resilience, affordability, and sustainability. It will provide opportunities for Māori enterprises, incorporate distinctive Māori relationships in the industry and create positive impacts on whānau, as well as meet Māori needs in innovation and technology. The increased adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies within the sector will also lead to new types of innovation which will be based on data collection, management and analysis and involve high-tech. This paper provides a high-level overview of the objectives and scope of this research to shed light on the benefits that will accrue from its successful implementation.